Animal tracks through forests and jungles were probably the beginning of man’s roads. They were easier and safer to use than to force new ways through dense undergrowth. The earliest roads made by men for their own use were probably footpaths leading from their shelters to the nearest streams and hunting grounds.

When men began trading with one another, roads became more important. The great overland trade routes across Europe and Asia came into use for the transportation of such things as amber, silk, and precious stones. These were merely tracks and trails well worn by constant use.